Strawberry producers in Greater Quebec City agree: The year 2023 will be “forgotten”. Between the frost of the flowers in spring, the drought in June and the torrential rains of the past few days, the berries are being mistreated in the fields and growers are trying to salvage what they can.
Strawberry growers in the Greater Quebec City area have felt like they are battling the elements since the start of the season.
Our life consists of adapting to the conditions, but here we have to adapt to extreme conditions. Water is the hardest to manage, it’s 80% of our problems. We have experienced everything that we can experience in one year, in half a season.
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Huge puddles of water stand out in Vincent Méthot’s strawberry field.
Photo: Radio Canada
Producer Israel Faucher agrees. The owner of La Fraisière Faucher in Pont-Rouge describes 2023 as a disaster year for his production.
Israel Faucher is no longer even able to receive visitors to pick them themselves.
In the spring we had flower frosts, we watered for about 14 nights because of the frost, says the producer. Then, from April 25 to June 24, it had to endure a drought with only 5 millimeters of rain and very high temperatures.
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“We’re trying to save what we have,” Israel Faucher admits, shocked by the situation.
Photo: Radio Canada
Since Monday, with the floods we are experiencing, it has been unbelievable, he laments. We had about 225 millimeters of rain. My father is 76 years old, we’ve been making strawberries for 45 years, that’s unknown here.
Thousands of dollars in losses
For hours, the strawberries produced by the Faucher family swam in about eight inches of water. The Pont Rouge producer estimates the damage in his case will exceed $600,000.
The rain is falling so fast that the ground can no longer absorb it, says Israel Faucher, still touched. It’s our life, it’s our career, if something like this happens we have no power. […] When we saw the rain fall, we knew it was over for our strawberries.
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“Since the beginning of summer, Mother Nature has never spared the harvests,” notes Vincent Méthot.
Photo: Radio Canada
According to Vincent Méthot, many producers will not be profitable. He also admits that the taste of the strawberries is not optimal this year. With all the water in the fields and this fruit getting soaked easily, its taste also suffers from the effects of this flooding.
Vincent Méthot, administrator of the Quebec Strawberry and Raspberry Producers Association for Chaudière-Appalaches, notes that all producers, whether fruit or vegetable, are suffering the effects of this extreme weather.
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Vincent Méthot still offers self-picking on his farm, but warns pickers that some sorting work needs to be done.
Photo: Radio Canada
It’s water management, there is excess water almost everywhere, producers are out of breath on top of all the labor and other problems we have and wages are increasing every year.
The Union des producteurs agricole (UPA), the Financière agricole and MAPAQ will hold a special meeting next week to discuss solutions to help weather-affected producers, not just strawberry growers.
What is the goal that the world of finance can bring about? What can MAPAQ do? “It is certain that we, the UPA, will support our producers in this,” assures the President of the UPA Chaudière-Appalaches, James Allen.
Information from Louis-Simon Lapointe and Félix Morissette-Beaulieu